Lan Ngoc

For the film actress often credited as Lan Ngọc, see Ninh Dương Lan Ngọc.


Lan Ngọc (1948-    ) is a legendary Vietnamese singer mostly famous for her vocal interpretations  of songs written by the late Vietnamese composer, Trịnh Công Sơn.  

As a young girl, Lan Ngọc had already developed a keen interest in music and often exemplified her natural God-given singing talents in the school choir.  At the age of 19, she officially turned professional upon the introduction from family friends, Mạnh Phát and Minh Diệu, a husband-and-wife team of entertainers to Đài Phát Thanh Pháp Á, the french national radio broadcasting network in Saigon, which debuted her very first recording of the song, Con Thuyền Không Bến (written by Đặng Thế Phong).  Shortly thereafter, Lan Ngọc began recording for various major record labels of South Vietnam such as Nghệ Thuật Tâm Anh, Continental and Dư Âm.  Among her most popular recorded songs included Tiếng Thời Gian (written by Mạnh Phát), Tiếng Tơ Đồng (written by Văn Phụng and Hoàng Trọng), Tiếng Thùy Dương (written by Châu Kỳ), Trở Về Bến Mơ (written by Ngọc Bích) and Biệt Ly (written by Dzoãn Mẫn).  Lan Ngọc became a nightly headliner at some of the top cabarets in Saigon such as Vân Cảnh, Queen Bee, Maxim, Đêm Màu Hồng, La Sirene and Khánh Ly Nightclub, owned by singer Khánh Ly.  

In 1972, Lan Ngọc got married to a doctor.  After the Fall of Saigon, she, like many other established singers prior to 1975, took a break away from the spotlight for a number of years.  After giving birth to her daughter, Bảo Trang, in 1982, Lan Ngọc resumed her singing career.  During the late 1990s, she opened a restaurant/cabaret in Ho Chi Minh City named Ân Nam.  In 2004, she released her studio album, Phôi Pha, a collection of songs written and composed by Trịnh Công Sơn.  Despite her settled life as owner of a successful restaurant along with an established career as a singer in Vietnam, Lan Ngọc and her husband decided to resettle in the United States in 2014 to be near their daughter who now works as a medical doctor in Southern California.  

Lan Ngọc currently resides in Orange County, California with her husband and grown daughter.  She continues to perform at live shows in various cities for Vietnamese communities across the United States.  She is best friends with singer Hồng Vân.